A Bit of Greed
I'm being a bit greedy.
I don't know the exact reason, but people who ate the food prepared by that black tiger impersonating the mountain lord vomit out those jaeng. And according to Hwaya, once they do, there's no way to save them. That much I understand.
The problem is that more than one or two people have already taken the food, and they're not all gathered in the square. Just like I saw on the way here, quite a few have left the square with their food in hand. No one knows when or where they'll spew out a jaeng.
Plus, the village isn't small, so with just the eight escorts who came with me, it's impossible to protect everyone when we don't even know where they've gone.
Even if it were possible, safeguarding all these people would put my entourage in danger. I can't let Hwaya and the other servants risk themselves just for my personal feelings.
But...
"It's your fault! You said to come here—!"
"Get out of the way! Move!"
"Aaaah! Aaaaaaah!!"
"Child..., I just..."
Every time screams of panic from the people around me mix with sobs of despair, my resolve wavers.
If I just say the word, maybe more people could be saved. Prioritizing my safety and the servants' over letting others die.
I shake my head to clear the negative thoughts filling my mind.
Here we go again.
Ever since the possession, my thoughts keep drifting too easily to the negative. I've shaken off quite a bit, but the lingering resentment must be bigger than I thought.
"Madam. There's no need to worry so much."
Hwaya speaks up as if she knows exactly what I'm thinking.
Even as she stomps on the approaching amorphous jaeng with her feet, she raises her arm to block my view with her sleeve like a curtain—like a parent shielding a child from something unpleasant.
"The jaeng pouring out are just the usual immature ones, crawling around without proper form. Not only us otherworldly folk, but even ordinary people can handle them without much trouble."
"...Is that so?"
Her calm explanation makes it sound less dire than I feared, and some tension eases from me. If that's true, then while those who ate the food directly might be lost, the bystanders shouldn't be in great danger.
Once we clean up the jaeng in the square, maybe we can handle the ones appearing elsewhere too?
"Then, if it's not that dangerous..."
"However."
My hopeful question cuts off at Hwaya's follow-up.
"They aren't decreasing in number. Normally, excluding those guarding you, we would've cleared the square and left by now..."
...Just as Hwaya says, the jaeng aren't dwindling.
On the contrary, their numbers seem to be growing, gradually dyeing the square black.
"Do they usually multiply like this?"
"No. They usually just surge out at first and stop. But now, they keep coming. If this continues..."
She trails off, but I get the meaning.
If the jaeng keep multiplying like this, we might reach a point where we can't protect the people.
And
"Madam. I still think it's best if we escort you out of the square."
Hwaya whispers so only I can hear,
"We can still escape safely."
Telling me to give up.
"..."
It's probably the rational choice.
Our numbers are limited compared to the ever-increasing jaeng, and we have no clear way to resolve this anyway. Blindly trying to protect others in a hopeless situation is just my greed.
Just guilt for not being able to look away guilt-free, and greed to avoid regret.
"Hwaya."
Normally, I might have nodded weakly at her suggestion.
But
"Is there really no way at all?"
I've decided to live a little greedily.
Someone told me it's okay.
"If there isn't, I won't be stubborn."
That doesn't mean I'll throw a tantrum blindly. Keeping Hwaya and the servants safe is my wish—and my greed too.
"...There's exactly one."
Let's be just a little greedy. A little more human-like.
Within the allowed methods.
"Hold out as long as we can... and wait for the master to come rescue you."
"...Hwaya. Do people usually call that a method?"
So I thought.
But the "method" from Hwaya's mouth was basically throwing a full-blown fit.
Still, for her to suggest it in this situation means it's the surest and safest option left.
In that case, there's no reason for me not to choose it.
Why not throw a fit for once?
"Hwaya. I'm counting on you. Hold out as long as—"
I push aside my guilt toward the servants who'll suffer and start to tell Hwaya to go with that plan.
"Th-the real Hobuin is f-fine...? I t-turned that spoiled, brainless bitch into something that needs tending for life...?"
A unfamiliar voice comes from right beside me.
Where moments ago there was only sluggish jaeng, now a human-like figure stares this way.
"Th-this is weird, right?"
Even with my lack of this world's common sense, I can tell at a glance that it is dangerous.
No, only an idiot wouldn't sense it.
"Sh-should I rip it out again?"
What world has a being casually chatting while holding a severed head? And the voice from that cut-off head isn't even masculine—it's far too feminine for a man's.
Is it some kind of jaeng too? But the crawling disgust it radiates, slithering over my skin, dwarfs the crawling ones on the ground.
"No helping it..."
It slowly raises a hand, offering the head forward.
"How dare you!"
Hwaya swings her arm wide at it as it approaches me with the head, trying to block its path. She puts her full strength into it—the sound of cloth slicing air rings clear.
"Not you."
"Wha—?"
It catches her arm without budging an inch. Hwaya's eyes widen in disbelief as she struggles to pull free, but it doesn't move.
"Should I kill you?"
Unlike Hwaya, who thrashes futilely, it's casual flick sends her staggering. Like a bored child tossing aside a broken toy, it yanks her back and flings her away effortlessly.
"You're in the way."
Then, as if nothing happened, it rolls its dilated pupils toward me.
"So, Hobuin... time to take you as promised?"
"What promise."
I'm just standing here, but it feels like I'm suffocating.
I'd vaguely expected some dangerous entity, but facing it head-on hits differently—the reality is on another level.
"Huh?"
I get that jaeng are like the common magic beasts in romance fantasies, but what's this sudden "promise" and "taking" crap?
If this were a real romance fantasy, I'd be peacefully dating, not dealing with overkill settings.
"You pop up out of nowhere babbling nonsense."
I feel like screaming even now. My head's yelling to run.
But where to? Jaeng are slowly multiplying around me, and it blocks the front.
All I can do is buy time...
Even a little, until someone comes to help.
"If you have something to say, at least explain."
"You don't know me?"
"No, I don't!"
Figuring I have nothing to lose, I talk to it. Surprisingly, it starts responding.
"I really did rip it out clean, huh?"
Like observing something curious, it twirls the head in its hand, scrutinizing me.
Can I reason with it? Keep talking to buy time?
"Well, not completely empty-headed?"
"Kkh!"
But that hope vanishes fast.
A rough hand shoots out and grabs my throat. The grip tightens, choking me—my neck bones feel ready to snap free. I flail to pry off its hand, but even straining doesn't budge a finger.
Hwaya, flung far away, struggles to rise unsteadily. But before she reaches... my neck will be torn first.
Oddly, the head screaming to flee goes quiet. My trembling body stops shaking entirely. Oxygen deprivation dulling my thoughts? No, everything feels vividly sharp.
The iron-rust stench from its severed neck.
"Madam!"
Hwaya's voice, her usually neat attire a mess.
"Does the Hobuin's head hurt? Why're you smiling again?"
And amid the pain, my lips curve up.
Ah. I'm relieved right now. Safe. Happy.
Because the one I've been waiting for has arrived.
"Don't touch her with your filthy hands."
—Boom. A earth-shaking roar erupts as a massive shadow looms over me. Before my eyes, a white-furred beast's paw crushes it protectively. Its arm detaches from the impact, dangling on my neck before going limp and dropping.
"Kkhk, kehk, heuk..."
"Are you alright, my lady?"
The familiar voice from shared meals rings louder, as my head-sized yellow eyes gaze down. Panting roughly from rushing here.
"Sorry. I was a bit late."
Just like the first day I possessed this body.
Sohwi in his true form looks down at me from above.
The same form that ruined our first meeting, the one I'd dreaded encountering so much I avoided even the garden until recently.
"You're too late."
Right now, that form is so welcome it hurts. I can't fathom why I'd fainted at the sight before.
Clutching my sore throat, I lean into the fox paw I'd once feared even looking at, burying my face in the fur. The beastly, musky warmth fills my nose, its hot body heat soothing.
"Do you know how long I waited, seobangnim?"
He must be startled too.
My pounding heart fills my body just like that first day.